Delay in Cabinet-level confirmations could help State Police appointee

Saturday

Apr 25, 2009 at 12:01 AMApr 25, 2009 at 12:10 AM

Since taking over as governor in late January, Pat Quinn has made at least five Cabinet-level appointments at state agencies, but the Illinois Senate has yet to confirm any of them. That inaction could be proving helpful to the most controversial selection so far, Jonathon Monken, who is Quinn's choice as director of the Illinois State Police. Opposition to Monken appears to be fading, and he might be able to win Senate confirmation, a key state senator says.

Adriana Colindres

Since taking over as governor in late January, Pat Quinn has made at least five Cabinet-level appointments at state agencies, but the Illinois Senate has yet to confirm any of them.

That inaction could be proving helpful to the most controversial selection so far, Jonathon Monken, who is Quinn's choice as director of the Illinois State Police. Opposition to Monken appears to be fading, and he might be able to win Senate confirmation, a key state senator says.

Shortly after Quinn appointed the 29-year-old Monken about a month ago, some senators said they viewed his selection as problematic because Monken never has been a police officer.

"I get the feeling from just talking to different (Senate) members that that opposition has softened somewhat," said Sen. David Luechtefeld, an Okawville Republican who serves as his party's spokesman on the Senate Executive Appointments Committee.

The Executive Appointments Committee reviews Cabinet-level and some other gubernatorial appointments, and it recommends whether the full Senate should confirm or reject the governor's nominees. But the panel hasn't yet considered any of Quinn's selections as state agency heads.

That's because other matters, such as passing a "mini" capital plan, took higher priority, said Sen. Tony Munoz, D-Chicago. Munoz, who is the committee's chairman, hopes it will consider some of Quinn's appointments in the next couple of weeks.

In addition to Monken, Quinn has appointed these state agency directors: Marc Miller at the Department of Natural Resources, Daniel Grant at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Gary Hannig at the Department of Transportation, and Warren Ribley at the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. All require Senate confirmation.

"Right now, the biggest concerns would be with the police (director appointee). That's for right now, and hopefully it'll get worked out," Munoz said.

"He's a very nice man," he added. "The only thing is, running a department of over 4,000 state troopers - maybe he can get some training, I don't know, but him not being a police (officer) or never stepping foot in the academy, that's the only concern that I have."

Luechtefeld said that since the Executive Appointments Committee hasn't met yet to review Monken's nomination, "he is now given the opportunity ... to make friends and to try to show that he's capable of doing what he's been appointed to do."

Monken "has very good credentials, other than the fact that he has not had any experience in the area of the state police or law enforcement," Luechtefeld added. "I think people who have met with him have been impressed with him."

Luechtefeld said he hasn't met Monken, but expects to do so in a few days.

Quinn's office didn't return a message on Friday. But in the past the governor has defended Monken's appointment, saying his background and skills make him well-suited to lead an agency that needs "better leadership."

A former U.S. Army captain, Monken graduated in the top 1 percent of his class at West Point. His military service included time in Kosovo and Iraq, where he led more than 100 combat missions as a platoon leader.

Sen. John Millner, R-Elmhurst, is a former police chief who also serves on the Senate Executive Appointments Committee. He hasn't decided yet whether he'll vote to confirm Monken, whom he described as having a "wonderful record in the military."

"I have to see if that can actually translate into understanding the culture of the State Police and of policing and, also, the idea of policing in a free society as opposed to being an occupying army," Millner said. "These are all things that we have to look at."

Adriana Colindres can be reached at (217) 782-6292 or adriana.colindres@sj-r.com

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